Foreign Affairs

In his letter, which was also sent to all 30 NBA team owners, Senator Hawley writes, “Remember that some things are more important than money. Remember your responsibility. You may not think of your League as an American undertaking, but whatever you think, what you say and do represents America to the world. And for an American organization to help the most brutal of regimes silence dissent in pursuit of profit is appalling.”

“Seventy years ago, the Chinese Communist Party seized power from the Chinese people. Since then, its ruthless rule has resulted in the deaths of millions of its own citizens. Concentration camps in Xinjiang and a rush toward digital authoritarianism are the latest examples of the Party’s totalitarian nature, which dates back to the Great Leap Forward and the Tiananmen Square Massacre. 

“The Party’s transgressions are not limited to inflicting horrific atrocities against the Chinese people. The Party has stolen American jobs and ideas through trickery and deceit. It regularly engages in economic warfare against Missourians through currency manipulation and tariffs targeting our farmers. The Party is eager to use military force, economic sanctions, and information warfare to impose its influence on its neighbors in the Indo-Pacific and others around the world.

“I hope that Beijing will one day forgo its imperial agenda. Until then, the world must continue to shine a bright light on the Chinese Communist Party’s misdeeds.”

“The crimes against humanity the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are committing are unparalleled in the world today. It has been estimated that more than 400,000 people out of 500,000 imprisoned were killed over a 30-year span. That these conditions exist in the 21st century, after the horrors the world witnessed in the last, is unconscionable. Just as then, we cannot remain silent. We should consider sanctions against those responsible and send a clear message to Pyongyang that the global community is not going to rest until these camps are abolished.”

“I am disgusted by the recent string of attacks on people in their places of worship. No one should feel threatened while practicing their faith. We should condemn the despicable acts of violence in Sri Lanka in the strongest terms possible and call it what is – radical Islamic terrorism. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and communities grieving the loss of their loved ones on such a holy day for the Christian faith.”

“It’s important that we remember who our friends are in the Middle East. This legislation strengthens U.S. security in the Middle East by boosting military support for Israel and Jordan, imposes new sanctions against the Assad regime, and reaffirms American support for Israel by making it easier for states and localities to approve laws to combat the anti-Israel BDS movement.”